watch later

Not interested / seen

Asako I & II (2018)Asako I & II (2018)

Asako I & II (2018)

A quietly surreal meditation on love and the people it transforms us into

Drama, Romance

best
THE VERY BEST

8.0

movie

Japan
English, Japanese
Dramatic, Emotional, Romantic
2018
Ryusuke Hamaguchi
Ariei Umefune, Atsushi Kaneshige, Daichi Watanabe
119 min

Synopsis

rotten tomatoes
imdb
wikipedia
College student Asako falls in love at first sight with Baku after meeting at a photography exhibit. Romance sparks between the two but doesn't last long when Baku suddenly disappears from her life. Two years later, she spots a man that bears a striking resemblance to him. Even though it is only his physical similarities to Baku that attracted her to him, she doesn't say so and starts dating the soft-spoken young man called Ryohei.

Our Take

8.0
The Staff

Asako is in love with Baku—deeply and almost delusionally, in a way that can only manifest in young love. But when the freewheeling Baku ghosts Asako for good, she moves from Osaka all the way to Tokyo to start a new life. Years later, she’s startled to meet Baku’s doppelganger in Ryohei, an office man whose solid dependability and lack of artfulness, while endearing, could not place him any further from Baku. Confused and lonely, Asako tiptoes around her feelings for Ryohei and, in the process, raises thought-provoking questions about the meaning, ethics, and true purpose of love.

 

Comments

What did you think? Who should watch it?

Next up

You Hurt My Feelings (2023)

7.9

Wise, funny, and utterly relatable, this mediation on the merits of white lies and bitter truths is a delightful piece of work

Sanctuary (2023)

best

8.4

An ingenious blend of erotic thriller and dark comedy with a once-in-a-lifetime performance by Margaret Qualley

Cette Maison (2022)

best

8.4

A heartbreaking but transcendent dramatic exercise that uses imagination to reckon with a devastating loss

Polite Society (2023)

best

8.6

This riotous mishmash of influences still feels utterly original thanks to some ingenious writing and a whirlwind central performance

The Stroll (2023)

best

8.5

The often neglected but deeply necessary story of trans sex workers, finally told in their own voice

Godland (2022)

best

8.3

A grand, terrific beauty of a film

Tin & Tina (2023)

6.0

Two orphaned twins bring darkness and danger into the lives of a young couple

About My Father (2023)

4.4

This weak imitation of Meet the Parents can't be saved, not even by Robert De Niro

Stan Lee (2023)

7.0

A charming introduction to the famous comic book creator with words from the man himself

The Village (2023)

6.7

The past haunts the present in this tale of loss and preservation of a village